Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Hi everyone! Today's recipe is another Halloween idea, but it can be used for any other time of the year as well, I'm going to be showing you how to make "Chocolate Cupcakes", these are delicious, they came out so good, they reminded me of one of my favorite Mexican treats "Pinguinos Marinela" Pinguinos are a very famous, soft and chocolaty Chocolate cupcakes filled with whipped cream, of course my version is not filled with cream, but the bread part of the cupcake tasted almost the same! They melted in my mouth, they were so soft and moist! if you like sweets and chocolate, you should definitely give these a try!

For decoration:
Chocolate sprinkles (optional)
Red Sugar (optional)
Halloween Pumpkin Sprinkles (optional)(in the picture above, I also used Pre-made Orange Icing)Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Melt the chocolate. (you can melt in the microwave or in a double boiler.) Set aside until ready to use it

Sift the flour, also sift in 2 teaspoons of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt, stir together and set aside until ready to use.

In an electric mixer blend 1 stick of butter on medium speed for 1 or 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add in the Light brown sugar, blend until well combined. Reduce the speed to low, add the eggs one at a time. (Blend each egg for 30 seconds before adding the next one.) Continue to blend on high for 5 minutes. (These 5 minutes of blending are very important to get a super soft and moist cupcake, so do not blend for less than 5 minutes!
)

After 5 minutes, you should have a very creamy, and soft texture, almost like a Mousse.
Reduce the speed and add in the Vanilla extract, followed by the melted chocolate, blend for 2 more minutes on high. Reduce the speed again, add a third of the flour mixture, then add half the sour cream, blend for 30 seconds. Add the second third of the flour, followed by the rest of the sour cream, blend again for 30 seconds, and finally add the rest of the flour. Blend on medium speed for 1 more minute or until well combined. Reduce the speed to low, and add in ½ cup of boiling water, blend until everything is incorporated. Pour batter into your cupcake pan and bake at 350ºF for 30-35 minutes or until cooked.

Let them cool completely before decorating them.To make the Chocolate Icing:

In an electric mixer blend 1 stick of butter for 2 minutes on high or until soft and creamy. Reduce the speed, Add in the vanilla extract, and cocoa powder, mix well until incorporated, scrape down the sides, add in the powdered sugar, and half the heavy whipping cream, mix for 2 minutes on high or until all the ingredients are well incorporated, then add the rest of heavy cream and continue to mix for 3 minutes on high or until you get a creamy and fluffy consistency.

Decorate the cupcakes any way you like.
I used a Pastry Bag, I began decorating right in the middle of the cupcake, going outwards to the outer edge of the cupcake. Or you can start decorating around the edges and go inwards all the way to the center of the cupcake. To finish, sprinkle with some chocolate sprinkles and colored sugar.